The invention relates generally to methods for the identification of antibiotics, preferably antifungals that affect the biosynthesis of L-threonine.
Filamentous fungi are the causal agents responsible for many serious pathogenic infections of plants and animals. Since fungi are eukaryotes, and thus more similar to their host organisms than, for example bacteria, the treatment of infections by fungi poses special risks and challenges not encountered with other types of infections. One such fungus is Magnaporthe grisea, the fungus that causes rice blast disease. It is an organism that poses a significant threat to food supplies worldwide. Other examples of plant pathogens of economic importance include the pathogens in the genera Agaricus, Alternaria, Anisogramma, Anthracoidea, Antrodia, Apiognomonia, Apiosporina, Armillaria, Ascochyta, Aspergillus, Bipolaris, Bjerkandera, Botryosphaeria, Botrytis, Ceratobasidium, Ceratocystis, Cercospora, Cercosporidium, Cerotelium, Cerrena, Chondrostereum, Chryphonectria, Chrysomyxa, Cladosporium, Claviceps, Cochliobolus, Coleosporium, Colletotrichium, Colletotrichum, Corticium, Corynespora, Cronartium, Cryphonectria, Cryptosphaeria, Cyathus, Cymadothea, Cytospora, Daedaleopsis, Diaporthe, Didymella, Diplocarpon, Diplodia, Discohainesia, Discula, Dothistroma, Drechslera, Echinodontium, Elsinoe, Endocronartium, Endothia, Entyloma, Epichloe, Erysiphe, Exobasidium, Exserohilum, Fomes, Fomitopsis, Fusarium, Gaeumannomyces, Ganoderma, Gibberella, Gloeocercospora, Gloeophyllum, Gloeoporus, Glomerella, Gnomoniella, Guignardia, Gymnosporangium, Helminthosporium, Herpotrichia, Heterobasidion, Hirschioporus, Hypodermella, Inonotus, Irpex, Kabatiella, Kabatina, Laetiporus, Laetisaria, Lasiodiplodia, Laxitextum, Leptographium, Leptosphaeria, Leptosphaerulina, Leucytospora, Linospora, Lophodermella, Lophodermium, Macrophomina, Magnaporthe, Marssonina, Melampsora, Melampsorella, Meria, Microdochium, Microsphaera, Monilinia, Monochaetia, Morchella, Mycosphaerella, Myrothecium, Nectria, Nigrdspora, Ophiosphaerella, Ophiostoma, Penicillium, Perenniporia, Peridermium, Pestalotia, Phaeocryptopus, Phaeolus, Phakopsora, Phellinus, Phialophora, Phoma, Phomopsis, Phragmidium, Phyllachora, Phyllactinia, Phyllosticta, Phymatotrichopsis, Pleospora, Podosphaera, Pseudopeziza, Pseudoseptoria, Puccinia, Pucciniastrum, Pyricularia, Rhabdocline, Rhizoctonia, Rhizopus, Rhizosphaera, Rhynchosporium, Rhytisma, Schizophyllum, Schizopora, Scirrhia, Sclerotinia, Sclerotium, Scytinostroma, Septoria, Setosphaera, Sirococcus, Spaerotheca, Sphaeropsis, Sphaerotheca, Sporisorium, Stagonospora, Stemphylium, Stenocarpella, Stereum, Taphrina, Thielaviopsis, Tilletia, Trametes, Tranzschelia, Trichoderma, Tubakia, Typhula, Uncinula, Urocystis, Uromyces, Ustilago, Valsa, Venturia, Verticillium, Xylaria, and others. Related organisms in the classification, oomycetes, that include the genera Albugo, Aphanomyces, Bremia, Peronospora, Phytophthora, Plasmodiophora, Plasmopara, Pseudoperonospora, Pythium, Sclerophthora, and others are also significant plant pathogens and are sometimes classified along with the true fungi. Human diseases that are caused by filamentous fungi include life-threatening lung and disseminated diseases, often a result of infections by Aspergillus fumigatus. Other fungal diseases in animals are caused by fungi in the genera, Fusarium, Blastomyces, Microsporum, Trichophyton, Epidermophyton, Candida, Histoplamsa, Pneumocystis, Cryptococcus, other Aspergilli, and others. The control of fungal diseases in plants and animals is usually mediated by chemicals that inhibit the growth, proliferation, and/or pathogenicity of the fungal organisms. To date, there are less than twenty known modes-of-action for plant protection fungicides and human antifungal compounds.
A pathogenic organism has been defined as an organism that causes, or is capable of causing disease. Pathogenic organisms propagate on or in tissues and may obtain nutrients and other essential materials from their hosts. A substantial amount of work concerning filamentous fungal pathogens has been performed with the human pathogen, Aspergillus fumigatus. Shibuya et al. (Shibuya, K., M. Takaoka, et al. (1999) Microb Pathog 27: 123-31 (PMID: 10455003)) have shown that the deletion of either of two suspected pathogenicity related genes encoding an alkaline protease or a hydrophobin (rodlet) respectively, did not reduce mortality of mice infected with these mutant strains. Smith et al. (Smith, J. M., C. M. Tang, et al. (1994) Infect Immun 62: 5247-54 (PMID: 7960101)) showed similar results with alkaline protease and the ribotoxin restrictocin; Aspergillus fumigatus strains mutated for either of these genes were fully pathogenic to mice. Reichard et al. (Reichard, U., M. Monod, et al. (1997) J Med Vet Mycol 35: 189-96 (PMID: 9229335)) showed that deletion of the suspected pathogenicity gene encoding aspergillopepsin (PEP) in Aspergillus fumigatus had no effect on mortality in a guinea pig model system, and Aufauvre-Brown et al (Aufauvre-Brown, A., E. Mellado, et al. (1997) Fungal Genet Biol 21: 141-52 (PMID: 9073488)) showed no effects of a chitin synthase mutation on pathogenicity. However, not all experiments produced negative results. Ergosterol is an important membrane component found in fungal organisms. Pathogenic fungi that lack key enzymes in this biochemical pathway might be expected to be non-pathogenic since neither the plant nor animal hosts contain this particular sterol. Many antifungal compounds that affect this biochemical pathway have been described (Onishi, J. C. and A. A. Patchett (1990a, b, c, d, and e) U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,920,109; 4,920,111; 4,920,112; 4,920,113; and 4,921,844, Merck and Co. Inc. (Rahway N.J.)) and (Hewitt, H. G. (1998) Fungicides in Crop Protection Cambridge, University Press). D""Enfert et al. (D""Enfert, C., M. Diaquin, et al. (1996) Infect Immun 64: 4401-5 (PMID: 8926121)) showed that an Aspergillus fumigatus strain mutated in an orotidine 5xe2x80x2-phosphate decarboxylase gene was entirely non-pathogenic in mice, and Brown et al. (Brown, J. S., A. Aufauvre-Brown, et al. (2000) Mol Microbiol 36: 1371-80 (PMID: 10931287)) observed a non-pathogenic result when genes involved in the synthesis of para-aminobenzoic acid were mutated. Some specific target genes have been described as having utility for the screening of inhibitors of plant pathogenic fungi. Bacot et al. (Bacot, K. O., D. B. Jordan, et al. (2000) U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,830, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (Wilmington Del.)) describe the use of 3,4-dihydroxy-2-butanone 4-phosphate synthase, and Davis et al. (Davis, G. E., G. D. Gustafson, et al. (1999) U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,848, Dow AgroSciences LLC (Indianapolis Ind.)) describe the use of dihydroorotate dehydrogenase for potential screening purposes.
There are also a number of papers that report less clear results, showing neither full pathogenicity nor non-pathogenicity of mutants. Hensel et al. (Hensel, M., H. N. Arst, Jr., et al. (1998) Mol Gen Genet 258: 553-7 (PMID: 9669338)) showed only moderate effects of the deletion of the areA transcriptional activator on the pathogenicity of Aspergillus fumigatus. 
Therefore, it is not currently possible to determine which specific growth materials may be readily obtained by a pathogen from its host, and which materials may not. We have found that Magnaporthe grisea that cannot synthesize their own L-threonine are non-pathogenic on their host organism. To date there do not appear to be any publications demonstrating an anti-pathogenic effect of the knock-out, over-expression, antisense expression, or inhibition of the genes or gene products involved in L-threonine biosynthesis in filamentous fungi. Thus, it has not been shown that the de novo biosynthesis of L-threonine is essential for fungal pathogenicity. Thus, it would be desirable to determine the utility of the enzymes involved in L-threonine biosynthesis for evaluating antibiotic compounds, especially fungicides. If a fungal biochemical pathway or specific gene product in that pathway is shown to be required for fungal pathogenicity, various formats of in vitro and in vivo screening assays may be put in place to discover classes of chemical compounds that react with the validated target gene, gene product, or biochemical pathway, and are thus candidates for antifungal, biocide, and biostatic materials.
Surprisingly, the present inventors have discovered that in vivo disruption of the gene encoding Threonine synthase in Magnaporthe grisea prevents or inhibits the pathogenicity of the fungus. Thus, the present inventors have discovered that Threonine synthase is essential for normal rice blast pathogenicity, and can be used as a target for the identification of antibiotics, preferably fungicides. Accordingly, the present invention provides methods for the identification of compounds that inhibit Threonine synthase expression or activity. The methods of the invention are useful for the identification of antibiotics, preferably fungicides.